Cara Cash CEO of Nexus NI commented following the launch of a report from a collaboration of students at Queens University today:

Nexus NI welcome this report and would like to sincerely commend the group of students who took it upon themselves to carry it out. It is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and we hope it will pave the way for much more research into the prevalence of sexually violence crime and its impact across the province.

The report may be distressing but it is necessary reading, we need to, as a society talk about the fact that sexual violence is happening, every day to men and women in every community and from all backgrounds. We need to challenge our government to allow open and honest conversations to take place with our young people around their sexual health and relationships and we need appropriate investment in specialist services, like Nexus to support victims.

Northern Ireland needs to break the silence on sexual violence, and we hope this report and the incredible young people who produced it, will be another way of doing this.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence in any form, please know you are not alone, it was not your fault and you can seek help.

]]>Northern Area Mental Health Initiativehttp://www.nexusni.org/?p=3052
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 14:35:42 +0000http://www.nexusni.org/?p=3052Continue reading →]]>The Northern Area Mental Health Initiative is an innovative and exciting new project led by Cookstown and Western Shores Area Network (CWSAN), in partnership with Action Mental Health and Nexus NI, which will deliver free mental health awareness and resilience training, and internet safety, sexual abuse and exploitation education to children and young people aged 8 to 25 years, and their key contacts.

The Initiative is funded by the Northern Ireland Executive’s Social Investment Fund (SIF) for two years, until March 2019, and will be delivered across the Northern Social Investment Zone which broadly mirrors the Northern Health and Social Care Trust boundary.

]]>Funding Boost for Nexus NIhttp://www.nexusni.org/?p=3017
Tue, 27 Jun 2017 13:42:48 +0000http://www.nexusni.org/?p=3017Continue reading →]]>Today Nexus NI are celebrating following news that a client led program has received funding support from Big Lottery NI!

Our Co-NEX-ion project will support 50 men and women per year for 5 years who are victims/survivors of sexual violence and has been designed in partnership with our Belfast Client Forum members.

We will use our grant to expand our client forums which provide immeasurable support, inspiration and motivation to their members, provide training and development opportunities for our clients post counselling and create video case studies using our clients stories for training others and for publicity aimed at breaking the silence of sexual violence.

The impact this project will have will include, increase clients’ self-esteem and confidence, provide them with new skills, improve their quality of life, and improve their mental health and well-being.

Our CEO Cara commented:

“We are all so proud of Co-nexion because our clients led on it. We are talking to the experts in what our clients need and making sure our services meet those needs moving forward. I and the staff team are really excited to see the project deliver for our clients and cannot wait to get started. We cannot thank Big Lottery NI enough for their support, belief in us and our clients and investment in our collective idea. We will not let them or ourselves down.”

Our client forum who where very much involved in the bid had the following comments

“Nexus is a safe environment that helps get rid of any guilt or shame we may have”

“This funding is going to save lives and help victims on their journey to becoming a survivor. Thank you Big Lottery”.

“The forum is looking forward to having extra resources to meet more often and develop some new ideas for the future”.

]]>Fundraising awardshttp://www.nexusni.org/?p=3005
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 07:56:08 +0000http://www.nexusni.org/?p=3005Continue reading →]]>Nexus NI won a Highly commended at the recent Norther Ireland Fundraising Awards for our Speakeasy Ball. Thanks to all our staff and volunteers who made the night so special.

Melanie who organised a Speakeasy Ball on behalf of Nexus won Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year. Huge congratulations to Melanie and her team who did a brillant job and raised lots of money for Nexus NI.

The Inquiry into ‘Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham’ by Professor Alexis Jay 2014 and the UK Children’s Commissioner’s Report ‘Protecting Children from Harm’ November 2015 both highlighted the importance of specialist training for all professionals involved with Child Sexual Abuse. The ongoing Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has acknowledged that these crimes present unique challenges for professionals working with victims and their families and the perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse

Who can benefit from this conference?

Anyone who works in child protection can benefit from gaining an insight into the behaviour of sexual perpetrators. This understanding better equips professionals and others to better protect our children and young people.

Proposed Learning Outcomes

Conference attendees will gain insight into the following:

Perpetrator stereotypes

Societal perceptions and attitudes

Common myths regarding perpetrators

Conceptual framework for understanding perpetrator behaviour

Perpetrators in a position of trust

Three levels of ‘On Street’ perpetrator behaviour

Interpreting the behaviour of sexual abuse victims

Case study examples will be shown and actual perpetrators speaking candidly on video about their offending behaviour to demonstrate parts of the conceptual framework. Case studies will also be used to demonstrate how the combination of knowledge regarding victims and perpetrator can enable professionals to work effectively with those affected by Child Sexual Abuse.

The Presenter

Dr Graham Hill is a Criminologist and a subject matter expert in relation to the behaviour of child sexual abusers and non-familial child abductors. He is a former senior UK detective and was previously the Head of Behavioral Analysis for the UK Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Graham’s investigative and research background gives him a unique perspective of serious sexual crimes against children. Dr Hill is a member of the British Society of Criminology and a Research Fellow at Leeds University school of Criminology and Law.

“Like many of our partner organisations across the UK, we are hugely concerned about the introduction of a 2-child tax credit limit, which is to become effective across the UK today. We are asking Northern Ireland’s elected representatives along with others in Scotland, England and Wales to urge the UK government to rethink the introduction of this policy.”

“By its very introduction the government is suggesting that it is appropriate to force victims of sexual violence to disclose their abuse. This is dangerous on many levels, but given our more than 30 years’ experience of supporting victims of rape, it is the direct impact on them that worries us most. For most of the people who come to Nexus for specialist counselling, it has taken many years, often decades to disclose, and when they come to Nexus they are disclosing to highly trained professionals in the field. To then expect them to disclose this information to underqualified staff in a non-therapeutic setting in order to seek a benefit is shocking and demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of the impact that sexual violence has on its victims. It also continues to put the onus on the victim. It is asking victims to prove that they were raped, which will undoubtedly multiply the feelings of guilt, shame and fear they already feel.”

This policy would be asking women in already potentially vulnerable positions, who may need this benefit to support their family to somehow prove they were the victim of rape. This is cruel and highly likely to increase their vulnerability and further traumatise them. It may also lead to a ripple effect which has not been anticipated and could lead to greater demand for services like ours.

Cara continued; “The way in which a victim would be expected to “prove” they were raped is hugely troubling. Given that victims may not know their perpetrator and therefore could have great difficulty in proving they were raped. Or indeed, they may know the perpetrator intimately having been raped by their partner/husband/relative/friend. How then can we expect a woman who may be living in a hugely abusive domestic setting to come forward and disclose? We can only assume that these elements of the policy manifestation have not been thought through as the policy is both insensitive and hugely unfair to victims of sexual violence.

“Finally, the law in Northern Ireland means that at the point of disclosure of a crime that crime has to be reported to the police. Therefore not only are we forcing victims to disclose, we are forcing them and those parties they disclose to, to engage with criminal justice, which the victim may not want, and neither party may be emotionally or mentally ready to do. The government must consider the impact on victims, and on the staff who are being forced to hear disclosures of sexually violent crimes. This policy could lead to re-traumatisation of victims, impact on their mental health and potentially vicarious trauma for those expected to assist the victim in pursuing their case for this benefit.
“For all of these reasons Nexus NI cannot support this policy and we are asking elected representatives in NI and across the UK to consider again the impact that this law would have on women across Northern Ireland.”

For more information or to speak to Cara Cash please contact 02890 326803 or email cara.cash@nexusni.org

]]>Friends of Nexushttp://www.nexusni.org/?p=2850
Wed, 29 Mar 2017 08:16:52 +0000http://www.nexusni.org/?p=2850Continue reading →]]>Would you like to help Nexus NI? If so we have a supportive forum through which you can do just that. Friends of Nexus are people who belive in the work we do, who want to help us continue to do it and who want to ehlp spread awareness across NI?

You can help by

Delivering leaflets & posters in your local area

Letting people know about Nexus NI

Giving feedback for our funders

Participating in fundraising activities

Share innovative fundraising ideas with us

Who can help?

Anyone who is interested in helping survivors of sexual violence and can commit some time to carrying out the activity.

What does it involve?

Nexus NI will send out a regular e-bulletin to all Friends of Nexus. This bulletin will give details of all current fundraising activity.

You can volutneer to help out in any way that suits and when it suit you.

There is no formal time commitment, you can help as much or as little as you can.

If you would like to become a Friends of Nexus email friends@nexusni.org

Monday 6th February marked the beginning of Sexual Violence and Abuse Awareness Week, a UK wide campaign aimed at changing the conversation around these crimes, encouraging victims to come forward and seek help and highlighting the organisations across the UK that can help them.

Nexus NI marketed the week by launching our Break the Silence Strategy, our Nexus Pledge and Nexus Pins. Our strategy will be our guiding document over the next three years, and whilst undoubtedly ambitious, it communicates clearly that our priorities are as they have been, to offer the best possible service to anyone affected by sexual violence.

The Nexus Pledge is a way for anyone, within Nexus or not, to stand with victims, to let them know they are not alone and to encourage more conversations about these crimes. The pledge states “I stand with victims of sexual violence and I want to break the silence.” We are asking as many people as possible to take the pledge and would hope that we will see hundreds of people will do just that.

The Nexus Pins are our way of breaking the silence by saying nothing at all, they are a visual way to show support for victims, and we are hopeful people from all backgrounds will show their support and wear them.

We were delighted to welcome Michelle O’Neill, Clare Bailey and Paula Bradshaw to our head office to sign the pledge, hear about our strategic plans and receive their Nexus pins. We also welcomed partners from across the community and voluntary sector, PSNI, PPS, Belfast Met and UNITE. Those in attendance had the opportunity to hear directly from clients who have used our services about the impact that they have.

If you haven’t already, please take the Nexus pledge on your social media channels, together we can #breakthesilence!